Kono's 41st Birthday
by Honor Reid
Summary: Kono keeps getting surprised by Danny in the nicest of ways. Danny/Kono


**PAIRING:** Danny Williams/Kono Kalakaua (future fic)

**PROMPT:** Birthday & K

**Notes: **Kono's age on the show has never been revealed. There has been some discussion on LJ and people place her age between 23-27. So I put her age at 27 when we first meet her in the pilot episode. Many thanks to my beta for this story ellie_pierson on LJ. Written for LJ Comm older_not_dead & stories_a_z.

**DISCLAIMER:** 'I don't own these characters, nor am I making any money from them. I merely borrow them from time to time'.

* * *

Kono stumbled through the door of her hotel room, tripping over her carry-on bag, in an attempt to get all of her luggage through the door. Banging her shin against the side table made her curse silently whilst hopping on one foot. Maybe she should have taken the bellboy up on his offer to carry her bags. Finally getting the entire set of luggage through the door, she threw the offending carry-on, onto the bed in a huff. Limping across the room to the mini-bar Kono snagged water too annoyed to worry about the price. Looking out the sliding glass door she was glad she was on the top floor because it lessened the noise from the busy street below. Slowly turning around she saw the room had one bed, a dresser, and a small table and chairs. It was a very uninspiring, generic hotel room.

Kono was livid. This was not how she saw her forty-first birthday going. _At all._ She's been stuck on the mainland for over 3 weeks, thanks to a court case that she was going to testify for. It was supposed to be a quick trial as the evidence was overwhelmingly against the defendant. Her testimony was just supposed to be icing on the cake and they needed her here for a week at the most.

That was not meant to be, thanks to the defendants lawyer it had become a three ring circus. The unscrupulous man had been on every talk show in the greater Los Angeles area, touting his client's charitable donations, and the fact that he was a pillar in the community. Totally leaving out the part where he had used his society connections to run a prostitution ring which used girls from undeveloped countries, the girls of course were promised legitimate jobs in the U.S. only to be trapped into a life of prostitution once they arrived. Even with all of the media wrangling the defendant was seriously up a creek, but that didn't stop his lawyer from delaying the inevitable.

So instead of a week being away from home it had turned into three weeks away. She had given her testimony yesterday and had been dismissed. She had checked out of this very same hotel this morning to catch a very early flight. Only to have her cell phone ring in the terminal, it was the district attorney who needed her back tomorrow for more testimony. So she had called Five-O and left a very dejected message that once again she would not be coming back home.

Kono missed the islands and her Ohana, especially one member in particular. Sitting down on the bed with a sullen sigh, Kono found herself smiling despite her bad mood just thinking about the man. The weird thing was she has known Danny for about fourteen years, she had always known in a detached way that the man was attractive and a great guy. She wasn't blind for goodness sakes, but here lately she knew it on a whole other level. About three weeks ago it just hit her out of the blue, or maybe it had crept up on her gradually and she only ended up noticing that night.

~~Hawaii Five-0~~

The two of them had been on a stakeout for a couple of hours, sitting in a car in a darkened alleyway watching a rundown house across the street. Five-O had gotten a tip from a confidential informer of Steve's that the house was being used to house weapons being sold on the black market. Danny in the passenger seat had the camera and was taking pictures of the various cars and their license plates as they would come and go. Kono would then input the information into her handheld phone and Chin back at Five-O would put names to the faces. Steve was meeting up with his informant again to try to glean some more information from the man in order to take down the arms dealers. It had been a fairly quiet stakeout, which was unusual for any stakeout that Danny Williams was involved in. The man could talk your ear off, but he was very entertaining and so Kono actually liked to go out on stakeouts with him. So she had noticed fairly early on that he had been too quiet this evening also that he was tense and out of sorts.

Yawning Kono took a sip of really cold coffee in an effort to wake up.

"Hot date last night, Kono?" Danny asked with a chuckle that sounded a little strained, glancing over but keeping his main focus on the house.

Kono just laughed shaking her head, "I wish. No, I was babysitting for Chin and Malia last night and got back to my place kind of late."

Checking her screen to see if Chin had found out the latest suspects identity, she almost missed the searching look Danny shot her.

"What?" Kono asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing," Danny said eyes straight forward, but even in the dark Kono could see the blush across his cheeks.

Narrowing her eyes, Kono decided to let it go for now, knowing Danny as well as she did, she knew it would only be a matter of time before he spilled his guts as to what he was thinking.

Reading through the list of low level criminals that had already stopped by, Kono saw that the activity seemed to be slowing. Looking down at her watch it wasn't hard to see why, it was 3:30 in the morning. Hearing Danny clear his throat Kono knew her patience was about to be rewarded.

"Soooo are you still seeing that detective from HPD?" Danny asked, but an underlying tension to his voice belied the casualness he was apparently trying for.

Kono turned her head and really looked at her fellow detective. Danny was looking a little worse for wear, his button down shirt was wrinkled from long hours sitting in the car, and his five o'clock shadow had ten more hours added onto it. He was leaning forward with the camera ready in his hands but he was staring so hard out the windshield Kono was afraid the house across the street might spontaneously combust. He was not even glancing in her direction.

Kono wondered if he was just making benign conversation or if this was going somewhere.

"No we stopped seeing each other about a month ago." Kono said just as causally, while trying to dig through her pants pocket for some gum. Thanks to the coffee and the fast food they had eaten earlier, her mouth had a funky taste to it, if she could just find her gum it would be alright. Maybe she shouldn't have worn these particular jeans to work as they were a bit on the tight side, and contorting her body without impaling herself on the steering wheel was becoming a problem.

"Oh sorry," Danny said, Kono happened to look over for a brief moment he looked almost happy before his expression went back to friendly concern.

_That's interesting_, Kono thought before saying "No that's okay; we really weren't going anywhere he was just someone to pass the time with."

Danny made a "Huh" sound before relaxing back into his seat and for the first time that night looking at ease.

Finally finding her packet of gum, Kono sighed in relief, opening a piece and placing it in her mouth. Looking over at her partner, she had to smile at the way he looked; his eyes were at half mast, still watchful but more relaxed. Kono liked that look on him, so often in this job they all had to be so hyper-vigilant, it was nice to see this side of him. She liked the way his mouth would curl up into a small smile when he was happy; it made him all the more handsome.

Kono quickly turned her head and brought her thoughts to an abrupt stop, unsure of where they had come from.

To distract herself she offered Danny some gum, "You want a piece?"

Danny looked interested, "Is it cinnamon?"

"Of course brah, is there any other kind?" Kono quipped with a smile. Danny laughed at that one.

Holding out the pack towards Danny, she was surprised by the shiver that went up her spine when their fingers accidently touched. His eyes finally met hers and then quickly looked away as he seemed as effected as she was.

He mumbled a, "Thanks." Before turning back towards the house they were watching.

_Okay that was weird._ If it had been any other guy she would have known exactly what that was. It would have been attraction, the kind that was guaranteed to make her toes curl. But this is Danny her colleague, her friend, and if she was going to be attracted to him surely it would have been back when she first met him, or sometime over the last ten plus years.

She had known of course he was a handsome man; all you had to do was look at him. She knew he was a little self-conscious about his short stature, but she liked his lean yet muscular build. His blond hair and blue eyes where perfect, almost on this side of beautiful and don't get her started on his hands. No seriously, _his hands_, just the thought made her shiver in a good way. And the way he moved was so sexy, even more so because the man had no idea. Then there was the fact that he was an all around good guy. Honest, decent, funny, loyal, a respected detective and a great father.

Kono felt her breath catch, as a revelation hit her full force. She was attracted to her coworker/friend Danny Williams. _When had that happened?_ I mean yeah they had grown closer over the years, from just colleagues to really good friends.

Now that she was thinking about it they had been hanging out a lot more lately just the two of them, going to local ball games and taking a few day trips when they had time off. Kono had been really enjoying their outings together, so maybe this shouldn't have been a total surprise. But that had all been done just as friends this would be something else entirely. Glancing over to make sure that her epiphany hadn't been witnessed by Danny, she was very glad to see he was still watching the house.

Okay she could handle this, so she was attracted to Danny. No big deal, she didn't have to act on it unless she wanted to. That was the question. Did she want to? Biting her lip in consideration, she pondered the question.

"Kono?" Danny asked with a tinge of concern coloring his voice.

Startled out of her thoughts Kono jerked slightly before answering, "What?"

Danny turned to face her, "Are you ready to go? It doesn't look like we are going to get anymore hits tonight we might as well pack it up."

Feeling a bit off kilter, Kono nodded distractedly before saying, "Yeah that sounds good."

Starting the car, and pulling out into traffic, she started to drive to headquarters, taking the scenic route just in case.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked after several minutes of complete silence.

"Sure, no I'm fine," Kono said confusedly before glancing over and clearing her throat trying to think of a subtle way of asking what she wanted to know.

"So are you seeing anyone?" Kono blurted out and as soon as the words left her mouth she wanted to hit her head against the steering wheel. She was a detective for goodness sakes, she worked undercover, and nothing about that question was subtle.

"No, not right now," Danny said as he ran his hand across the back of his neck in what Kono knew was tell of his when he was nervous.

_Why was he nervous?_ Kono pondered various reasons why he could be, ranging from open cases, to something new with Grace, but she kept coming back to his odd behavior tonight. _Should she say something? Should she wait for Danny to say something? Was there even anything to say? _ She was pretty sure it was a bad sign when your inner voice was starting to sound hysterical, so Kono took in a deep breath and let it out.

Pulling up to headquarters Kono was no closer to figuring out what to do next. Turning off the engine and taking off her seatbelt she didn't immediately exit the car, she had the feeling that if she left the car without at least attempting to have this conversation she would chicken out and chalk it up to a late night and to much caffeine.

Noticing that Danny wasn't exiting the car either Kono took that as a good sign and shifted in her seat, facing him trying to gather the courage to speak. Danny had turned to face her as well, she watched as he rubbed his palms down along his thighs in a nervous gesture. Finally they made eye contact and something she saw in his blues eyes, gave her hope. But surprisingly she wasn't the first to speak and the question that was asked was not the one she was hoping for.

"When do you leave for the trial?" Danny asked with a slight smile on his face.

Kono was a little taken back by this question and had think about it for a minute. "Actually I leave later today on the red eye." Kono finally said looking down; a little disappointed by the direction the conversation was going.

"How long will you be gone?" Danny asked gently before reaching out and laying his hand over hers where it rested on her leg.

That brought her head back up and when his hand remained on hers it brought a smile to her face that she saw was answered by Danny's own.

"I'll be gone for about a week, they want me there a few days early just in case the trial goes faster then they think," Kono said, hyperaware of the warmth of Danny's hand over her own.

"Okay, so how about this, when you get back we go out to dinner," Danny said a little tentatively, as though unsure of his welcome.

"Yeah, I would like that." Kono answered verbally, while showing her acceptance physically by turning her hand over and linking their fingers together in a strong grasp. Danny gave her hand a reciprocal squeeze and let out a loud and comic sigh of relief. That made her laugh and reminded her that this wasn't just some guy this was her friend Danny, no matter what it would be okay.

~~Hawaii Five-0~~

Finishing up her water, Kono smiled at the memory of the two of them sitting in a car outside of Five-O headquarters at four o'clock in the morning holding hands like a couple of teenagers. They made plans to eat at a local place that was on the intimate side and had a good reputation for the best Indian food. Getting up she threw the bottle in garbage, and returning to the bed she sat down and picked up the remote. Turning on the TV she tried to find something to watch but after a through perusal of all the channels she turned it back off. Leaning back and resting her weight on her hands, she once again thought about how different the past 3 weeks had turned out.

~~Hawaii Five-0~~

She had flown off the next evening after her conversation with Danny, hoping the week would pass quickly so she could get back and go on that dinner date. Only by the end of that first week they were nowhere close to when they wanted her to testify. She had been very depressed when she called Danny to let him know she would need a rain check on their date. He had sounded just as upset, but he said as soon as she came home they would go out.

A few hours later Kono was still disheartened and was seriously considering raiding the mini-bar for an overpriced Snickers bar. She hadn't wanted to go out to eat and even calling room service seemed beyond her right now. She was fortunate that she had been put up in a hotel that catered to out of town business travelers. So at least she was able to set up her laptop on the table provided and tap into the free Wi-Fi. She could work from the hotel if she wanted to, not that she was currently even attempting to work instead she was listlessly scrolling through old Cops videos on YouTube. Lounging around in pajamas and her hair in a haphazard ponytail, Kono was surprised when she got a message on screen that someone wanted a video conference, clicking on the icon she was pleasantly surprised to see Danny, who was sitting in his apartment.

"Hi ya beautiful," Danny said with a mischievous smile on his face. He was looking very smart in a buttoned down shirt, and he was freshly shaved.

"Danny, what are you doing?" Kono replied with a laugh while blushing when she realized how awful she must look.

"Well I am a man of my word. I promised you we would have dinner together and dinner together we shall have," he loftily explained.

Opening her mouth to ask what he meant she was interrupted by a knock at the door. Kono looked at him in askance but Danny's smile only got bigger and he waved her off to go answer. Standing outside her door was a waiter from room service with a cart and a covered tray, she watched in astonishment as the man pushed the cart into the room. He placed the tray on the table, gave her a wink, and quickly let himself out.

Taking the lid off the tray she was delightfully surprised to find one of her favorite curry and rice dishes. Carrying her dinner over to her laptop, she placed it very carefully in front, noticing a similar meal in front of her date. Danny's apartment was also now darker with candles providing light and Kono excitedly followed suit by shutting off the overhead lights, but leaving the bedside light on.

"This is just so lovely Danny. I don't know what to say," Kono said still flabbergasted. In truth though she shouldn't be surprised this is exactly something Danny would do. She has seen Danny when he likes someone; he's goes all in and lays his heart down before them. He is passionate, committed, and tender. Kono never considered what it would be like to be the focus of such thoughtfulness. She liked it, she liked it a lot.

"Just enjoy it sweetheart, you deserve it. Plus I really was looking forward to tonight, and this was the closest I could get," Danny said a little sheepishly.

"I was too, but this is the next best thing. Really," Kono said reassuringly touching her fingers to her screen wishing he was really sitting right in front of her. When he repeated the gesture with such a look of tenderness on his face, it made her heart catch and she realized maybe she was all in as well.

Taking in a shuttering breath she picked up her fork, watching as Danny did the same and started eating.

~~Hawaii Five-0~~

They ended up talking late into the night, about their day, their childhood, about anything and everything. That would set a pattern of the next couple of weeks. Danny calling her once his day was over and they would talk away much of their evening. Kono who thought she knew a lot about her friend Danny was slowly realizing the hidden depths beneath the boisterous personality.

Stretching her arms above her head Kono knew she should get up and unpack but just the thought, made a feeling of disappointment come crashing over. She allowed herself to have a two minute pity party at being stuck 2500 miles from home, her Ohana, and from Danny, on her birthday. Letting out heavy sigh, Kono decided she needed to suck it up and move on, she was an adult. She could celebrate when she returned home. So she got up and started to unpack her bags.

As the sun rose high in the sky and after lunch at the hotel's restaurant, Kono felt herself getting sleepy. The early morning wake up call to get to the airport was catching up with her. She decided to stretch out on the bed and take a nap. Blinking sleepily at the clock she decided to just rest for an hour or two and then get up and get something done.

When Kono woke, the room was dark, turning over and squinting at the clock she saw she had slept for five hours! No wonder it was so dark. Standing up, Kono stumbled over to the bathroom switching on the light and grimacing at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was awful. It looked like a family of rats had taken up lodgings in it.

Hearing a familiar beep from the bedroom, Kono went to check her phone. Turning on the bedside lamp she saw she had two missed calls and a bunch of text messages. The text messages were from friends and family members wishing her a happy birthday. The calls and subsequent voice mails were from Chin and Steve. They too wished her a happy birthday and said they would call back later. _How could she have slept through both calls?_

Kono slowly sat down on the bed trying not to cry, trying to tell herself that it was fine. She was a big girl she wasn't going to cry over something so stupid. So she was alone on her birthday, so she had been away from home for close to month, so what it's not that big deal. Only it felt like a big deal, it felt like a huge deal. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and she took in a deep breath trying to just shake it off. Picking up her phone and dialing Danny's number, Kono knew speaking to the detective would cheer her up, it always did. She was actually surprised Danny hadn't called her yet, considering he usually phoned her on his way home from work. Her heart sank a bit when it went to voicemail.

Unsure of what to do next, Kono decided to take a quick shower and then maybe go downstairs to the hotel's restaurant for dinner. Opening the dresser drawer, Kono was surprised by a knock at the door. Walking over and looking through the peephole, Kono couldn't believe her eyes.

"Danny!" Kono exclaimed as she ripped open the door, unable to grasp that he was standing at her doorway.

Danny looked harried, his clothes were disheveled, and his hair wasn't its usually slicked back do'. It looked like he had ran his hands through it a bunch of times there were bits and pieces sticking up all over the place. He had a bag over one shoulder and a box in his hand. He also had the biggest grin on his face and his eyes were lit up with joy in a way that took her breath away.

Standing to one side and motioning him in, Kono didn't know if she should pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Watching in stunned disbelief, Kono just stared as Danny dropped his bag on the floor by the desk and set the box down very carefully before turning around to face her.

"Hi there," Danny simply said before opening his arms in a wordless plea.

Kono launched herself at him knowing he would catch her. Wrapping her arms around him, and burying her face in his neck she just breathed him in. He smelled like home, ocean breezes, warm sands and Danny. _How in three weeks time had Danny become home to her?_ She felt Danny's arms tighten around her and feeling him smile against her neck left her feeling warm and a little bit high.

Drawing back reluctantly, Kono couldn't help but laugh out of sheer giddiness; to go from such lows to such highs was enough to make anyone a little giddy.

At Kono's laugh Danny's smile got even wider. It was the open carefree smile that he didn't show the outside world just to those closest him. She loved that smile.

"I am so happy to see you," Kono said.

"Sweetheart you have no idea how good it is to see you," Danny replied with wearied amusement before continuing. "It has been the most hectic day, but you make it all worth it"

"What are you doing here?" Kono asked while taking a step backwards, but kept hold of one of his hands, not wanting to lose contact.

"Well, I got your message this morning about not coming back just yet. And I could not let you spend your birthday alone. So I informed our fearless leader that I was taking all of that vacation time that I have never used and I hopped on a plane." Danny explained, linking their fingers together and swinging their hands slightly.

"You are the sweetest man," Kono said softly.

"You my dear make it so easy," Danny replied, reaching up and brushing his fingers slightly over her cheekbone before cupping the back of her neck and drawing her towards him.

Kono closed her eyes in anticipation of their first kiss, but was sorely disappointed when a knock at the door interrupted them. Kono opened her eyes and leaned her forehead against his in resignation.

Danny chuckled ruefully and gave her hand a squeeze, before saying, "Hold that thought."

Kono saw it was room service and surmised that Danny had once again been so thoughtful as to have ordered them dinner. Going over to the desk, Kono was highly curious about the box and what it could contain, but held off poking at the box to try to figure it out. Looking over her shoulder she saw Danny was showing the waiter out, she turned and leaned back against the desk and allowed herself to enjoy the view that was the back of Detective Danny Williams.

When Danny turned around he pointed a finger and said in an amused voice, "You have a very lecherous look on your face."

Raising one eyebrow and smirking Kono countered with a, "So, you have a problem with that."

Danny started walking towards her. "No actually I like it very much," he said with a husky tone to his voice. "And as much as I would like to continue this very _stimulating_ conversation, I know for a fact the fish I ordered for dinner is not going to get any fresher. We should probably eat."

Kono completed the distance between them, and said, "Okay but only if you promise we will continue this conversation later."

"Babe, you should have no worries on that score," Danny stated a little gruffly as his gaze lingered on her mouth, before he cleared his throat and taking her hand once again. He led her to the table and pulled out her chair for her.

Dinner was delicious, and the conversation was perfect. Danny told of his journey of misadventure to make it her side. Kono watched the hand waving spectacle that was Danny in full rant-mode with amusement and love. The love part would have surprised her a couple of weeks ago but now it didn't it just seemed inevitable.

When they had finished eating, they cleared the dishes and Kono placed the tray outside the door.

"Okay, I am going to need you to do something for me," Danny said in a mischievous voice. As he stood next to the table with his arms crossed.

"Anything," Kono replied saucily.

Danny's eyes widened and so did his smile, "Whoa, you might want give me some caveats before you say something like that."

Now it was Kono's turn to smile, "I trust you."

Danny's whole stance seemed to soften just a bit and Kono could see how much those words meant to him. "Okay," Danny said gently and then pulled out one of the chairs to the table before continuing, "I want you to sit here and close your eyes, no peeking."

Kono followed the directions to the letter; once she was seated she closed her eyes and resisted the urge to peek.

"Okay sweetheart open your eyes," Danny whispered.

Opening her eyes Kono saw a chocolate cupcake with a single lit candle in the middle.

"Oh my goodness Danny, is this a cupcake from Richard's Bakery?" Kono asked a little breathlessly, the bakery was right around the corner from their office and those cupcakes were her favorite.

Danny who was sitting in a chair next to her just laughed at her expression which was a mixture of shock, and ravenous hunger, and said, "Only the best for you, I remembered how you liked them, so I brought one with me. Of course it almost caused a riot on the airplane due to how delicious it smelled but it was worth it"

"Well, go ahead and make a wish," Danny urged.

Kono closed her eyes and made her wish. Blowing out the flame on the candle, Kono quickly removed the candle and swiftly swiped one finger through the frosting and bringing it to her mouth. She was very happy to taste that it was just as delicious as she remembered.

"Well what did you wish for," Danny asked in a slightly strangled voice, with his eyes locked on her mouth.

Kono raised her eyebrows in shock before saying, "I can't tell you, then it wouldn't come true."

Danny looked a little disappointed, "Oh…"

Kono interrupted before he could say anymore, "But I could show you." She turned in her chair so she was facing him.

Danny looked very pleased by this suggestion, "You could show me? I. For one would love for you….."

Danny's voice dwindled off as Kono placed her hands on either said of his face and leaning towards him placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Kono leaned ever so slightly back until their lips were mere inches away; she could feel his breath on her mouth. Sliding one of her hands down his back, the other burying itself in his hair, Kono felt Danny's hands on her legs before they slid up her back. Danny pulled her closer and pressed his lips against hers. She opened her mouth slightly and he followed suit before deepening the kiss.

It was quite a few minutes before they drew apart, both breathing heavily.

Danny said in a voice that was shaky but his eyes held a euphoria that looked a lot like love, "That was a great wish."

Kono grinned and said, "Thank you, for the best birthday ever." Running her fingers across his jaw line, knowing she must be showing her heart in her eyes and not caring. Because she knew this man would keep it safe and share his in return.


End file.
